Our last morning in Queenstown. The cleaners were knocking on our door at 9.45am even though we had until 10am to vacate. We explored Queenstown Gardens, working up an appetite to eat an early lunch from Fergburger (much to Ross’ horror that we couldn’t leave the town until we had one!). The Gardens are beautiful, just like everywhere else we look. Tim thinks it will be strange to go home and not see snow-covered mountains constantly surrounding us.

The first pic above of the creek is my new favourite, my next screen saver! After exploring for a while, Ross took four kids to buy petrol, while Abi, Zac and I purchased some fudge from the Remarkable Sweet Shop and lined up at Fergburger…..at 10.45am….. We were back at the bus with burgers and fries and onion rings and aioli by 11.15!! The only time I have ever banned my children from eating fruit for morning tea because I am about to make them eat burgers and fries…..#proudparentingmoment……. It was so worth it though, everyone agreed it was all delicious.

We finally departed Queenstown 😢 for Te Anau, along the same windy roads I “survived” earlier this week. There really are very few options to stop between these two towns. But it’s ok, I didn’t need to! We reached Te Anau just before 2pm, grabbed a snack from the bakery and a coffee, and checked in to our hotel. There was a 32 minute presentation on the Fiordland at the local cinema, but no one else was keen (at $10 a ticket I was ok with that, I might just purchase the DVD for $30 if I can find it…).

At 4.30pm we joined the Real Journeys Glowworm Caves tour, which involved a boat ride to the caves, and then a walk and boat ride inside the caves. No photography allowed, so this was my last pic for the day. (We really don’t favour Sam and Belle, they are just always ready to pose!)

Everyone loved the glow worm tour, which included a video presentation and lecture when we returned to the Visitor Centre about the national park surrounding us and more in depth info about the life cycle of glow worms. 45mins was long enough in the caves for me though, it was pitch black most of the time and the constant thundering sound of rushing water reminded me of how having lots of children has weakened my bladder! 😉

We were back in Te Anau exploring the main street by 6.45pm. We ended up in a local restaurant for dinner called The Ranch, full of John Wayne pics and country and western music!, then returned to our hotel for a spa and sauna before bed. The spa was the hottest we have ever felt, so now there are a lot of red-faced children sleeping on top of their blankets! 

We woke at 9am, I tell you!! No alarm set today, as it is the compulsory rest day of the trip. 

(Explanatory note: ever since everyone felt tired after Tasmania in 2012 and I then nearly broke Ross on the USA West Coast in 2013 by making him drive so many kms in 8 days, the family outvoted me and insist on having one day of rest on our trips. There are places to see and things to do, but ok, whatever….)

We strolled down the dockside area to explore Queenstown at 11am, well…it’s a stroll AFTER we leave Lake Street. I’m not sure the photos looking down and up the street do the incline justice…..

We did some souvenir shopping and bought dumplings for lunch. We have walked past the famous Fergburger store every day, but the line is always too long for some of the more patience-challenged family members.  We then drove out to the Kawarau River Bridge to watch (but not participate in!!) some bungy jumping and ziplining. 

From there we returned to the Skyline to take a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain and enjoy some luge rides. The first person we saw in line was Hamish Blake with his son Sonny, and he was very willing to pose with some fellow Aussies. 

Ross and I focused on teaching Sam and Belle how to drive themselves, until some speeding along crashed right into Ross at full force. We convinced the little two to ride with us after that, and gave their extra rides to the older kids as soon as we could convince them to retire from the track. I guess this pic proves they were ok with that?

At the bottom of the Skyline is Queenstown cemetery. We missed the funeral today of a surrogate grandmother, Heather Mullins, so we had our own little ceremony of silence and remembrance there while the service was on back in Sydney. After a group hug and the shedding of many tears in our little family circle, we spent some individual time reflecting and exploring, and regrouped to head off for dinner. 

Ross was desperate for a steak, so we found a table at a franchise steakhouse restaurant called Lone Star. And were waited on by the first true Maori New Zealander we have encountered. Until now we have had an English bus driver, French tour guide, and other nationalities serve us. We then retired to the house for a spa bath and (reasonably) early night, which allowed me to sneak in another two loads of washing. It is a day of rest after all!! 😉

We enjoyed a leisurely start to the day, leaving at 9am. Our first stop was for coffee and a stroll at Arrowtown, a beautiful little town. 

From there we went on to Wanaka, equally as beautiful.

Our main destination for today was Puzzling World, where we spent an hour in the Great Maze and then time with optical illusions. Sam told us he was in nerd heaven! 

We shopped for more supplies at a Woolworths supermarket on the way home (in NZ, they are called Countdown?). Sam told us we shouldn’t need to visit a supermarket again this holiday…..he clearly does not see our weekly shop at home….. after a BBQ and salad dinner, the kids chose ‘Pan’ for a movie night. In even better news, I did three loads of washing! 😀

The longest conversation about organising this holiday was about how we would fit in Milford Sound (Ross is just along for the ride most other days!). He wasn’t keen on a big day of driving to get there, so I booked a coach/cruise day tour leaving from Queenstown at 7am this morning. By 8am I was motion sick and vomiting into plastic bags borrowed from the driver (surprisingly, he didn’t want them back…) 😬😬

Our first stop was at Te Anau at 9.30am. Ross went shopping for plastic bags while I enjoyed he fresh air and walked the Main Street with the kids, stopping for the obligatory tourist photo with the model Takehe.

The next leg of the journey was three hours with stops for scenic walks and photo ops, then we boarded a boat for a 2 hour cruise of Milford Sound. 

The boys enjoyed a lesson in Economics – we brought lunch from home to avoid paying an extra $29 for the buffet meal, the driver offered it to everyone on the bus for an extra $35, and the cruise staff offered it again for $25. Supply more than demand, perhaps? 

The cruise was great, scenery beautiful of course, and the kids enjoyed the drenching by standing at the front of the boat as it went under the waterfall. 

They did not so much enjoy the news that there was a four hour coach ride back home. Again we were offered the upsell of a return trip by small plane (for $399) or helicopter (for $750). We all came to Sydney from Queenstown for that! And anyway, Ross found me a miracle cure in Te Anau so I was ok to travel back by coach: a ginger tablet, that I was popping every two hours – he is a lifesaver!!

We disembarked in the Main Street at 8pm to explore some shops and have dinner. We went to a pizza and pasta restaurant called The Cow on a recommendation, which was lovely but small and very busy! And then trekked up the very steep hill of Lake Street back to our house, and straight to bed!

We had everyone up at 5am-ish to be ready to leave for the airport at 6am. I jumped out of bed full of energy and a smile from one ear to the other – not because I am about to trust in a pile of metal to stay up in the sky, but because I am TOTally ready! Eight loads of washing yesterday (including sheets and towels), all bills paid, house (sort of) cleaned, and bags packed and check-in process completed. And fingers crossed, I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything!! 😬

On the way to the airport I read a news article that due to a malfunction at air traffic control, all flights were grounded indefinitely. We had planned to take the family in to the Qantas Club for a second breakfast, but because of the delays they said we could only take one guest each. So rather than choose a favourite child each, we just sat and waited with the crowds at our departure gate instead – #firstworldproblems….  It did mean we ran into the Stewart’s before they boarded their flight to Nadi, and Ross caught up with Mike while buying us a coffee. 

Our flight was only half an hour late leaving, and the pilot was pleased to announce tailwinds would pick us up and take us there faster, so we would arrive only 15 mins after our scheduled time. My foot is not on the steering wheel or pedal, so I don’t enjoy the ride over which I have no control! I have learnt from experience though and have two new must-haves for a calm flight – noise cancelling headphones and a kids’ version of Valium. Hear me out here…..the doctor prescribed this for Zac who panics and vomits on every single flight (it’s amazing to read back over past trips and see how often I innocently wonder if he has caught a bug!). It was entertaining for the others to see him looking high and happy (singing “we’re going to NZ” over and over), but towards the end of the flight he did look sad and say he had a headache. It was a good lesson for the others not to do drugs! But it also made for an enjoyable flight for Zac (and Belle and I who usually pat him and hold multiple sick bags for him). The headphones enabled me to listen to soothing music and watch “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and barely know we were in the air!

It was bumpy coming into Queenstown through the mountains (and Zac did ask if the pilots knew how to avoid them!), but the beautiful scenery made us forget all our anxieties. It was a smooth transition to our 12-seater bus, and we were soon at our accommodation for the week. Ross, Jarrod and Zac went shopping for groceries while the rest of explored and unpacked, and given the three hour jump forward in time, we decided to stay in for tonight. Photos below are of the view from the balcony and kitchen – I am looking forward to breakfast with a view like this! Off to bed now thankful for safe and calm travels.